


Jaune's Arc-ellent Adventure

by Harmonious_Arkos_Sloth



Category: RWBY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 16:44:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16391399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harmonious_Arkos_Sloth/pseuds/Harmonious_Arkos_Sloth
Summary: Limbs? Check. No single female relatives to run the risk of a Grandfather Paradox? Check. He had all the time in the world. He had trained his entire life for this, his chance to help people. It started with a simple soul, and quickly spiraled out of control from there.





	Jaune's Arc-ellent Adventure

**Once More, With Feeling!**

 

The sun beat down up him relentlessly, like the glare of Professor Goodwitch, as Jaune slowly awoke. He stared around groggily, as he made a fumbled, half-conscious attempt to rub the sleep from his eyes.

 

_ 'Wait a minute. That's not sleep sand. That's real sand! How did I get actual sand in my eyes?!' _

 

The strangeness of the situation sent a jolt of adrenaline to his system, and Jaune's tiredness fell away like his self-esteem every time Cardin made fun of him. Before Pyrrha broke his legs. Jaune scrambled to his feet, patting himself down thoroughly to make sure all of his vital organs were intact.

 

When you wake up in a place that is different from where you fell asleep, that's just common sense, after all.  

 

He was also clothed in his full combat gear, and shouldering his travel pack. _ 'How the actual Ozpin did I get here in the middle of the desert? I fell asleep in a hotel room in Mistral!' _

 

It was indeed the desert. Jaune found himself surrounded by nothing but sand, the oppressive light of the not faunus sun, and a solitary cactus.

 

He took a slow, deep breath, trying to center himself as Ren had taught him. _ 'I am one with the pancake. And the pancake is with me. I am one with the pancake, and the pancake is with me...' _

 

It took a few moments, during which he was certain he heard his skin audibly crackle, but he managed to calm his racing heart. "This is fine. Everything is fine. Nothing bad ever happened. Ever."

 

With that cheery bit of Nora-inspired motivation out of the way, Jaune decided to pick the direction that seemed to have the least amount of heat haze and start walking.

 

His family's ancestral armor, usually a source of comfort, quickly became a hindrance, absorbing the heat of the unforgiving, tail-less sun, and seeming to triple in weight with each step.

 

It was also a literal pain to remove. "I'm pretty sure if it wasn't for my aura, I would have third degree burns on my hands. Thank you, soul manifestation!"

 

Of course, that just meant that without the use of a convenient locker to keep his stuff in, Jaune was forced to carry everything in his travel pack. "My God, is this what Lyrica feels like in  _ Ancient Tomes: Air Edge? _ I'm so sorry, Lyrica! I'll never make you carry dragon bones again! Just sit and eat all the bread you want!"

 

Feeling a new metaphysical lightness, even though his physical burden remained, Jaune continued on, staggering toward parts unknown.

 

After what felt like hours, Jaune came upon what was either the most beautiful sight known to man, or a mirage caused by the not muscular hot sun frying his brain: A city.

 

This city had high, defensible walls, and an equally tall gate manned by several stern-faced guards that kept a watch over the large convoy of vehicles that they were inspecting. Luckily, there was a much shorter line for people waiting to get in, and a much easier screening process for a lone traveler to go through.

 

A quick search of his bag later, and Jaune found himself in the middle of one of the traditional open-air bazaars of  the kingdom of Vacuo. Everywhere he looked, colorful stalls were manned by skilled tradesmen and artisans vying for attention and bartering with customers.

 

Within the collection of brightly colored awnings, everything seemed to be on offer from snacks and spices, to clothing, and even Dust.

 

Jaune's stomach chose the moment he was passing a stall offering baked goods to remind him that even if this was all some sort of hallucination, he could still feel hunger. He set his pack down, and rummaged around in the pocket where he kept his lien, coming up with a lot less than he was comfortable with.

 

"I'm not sure exactly how much a flight to Mistral is going to cost, but I'm betting it is a lot more than twenty lien." With a sigh, Jaune began to plan how exactly he would get a ride back to his team.

 

Perhaps selling his cooking skills to an eccentric airship captain in exchange for passage?

 

As Jaune was mentally preparing his sales pitch, which mostly consisted of "Me cook for you long time," he found something in his bag that he did not expect: Mercury's scroll.

 

Mercury apparently lost it during the big fight in Sanctum, and Jaune happened to spot it as Mercury and the rest were being led away in handcuffs. He had decided to pick it up out of curiosity, thinking that it may have a clue as to the plans of Cinder's group.

 

Blake assured him that Adam had terrible operational security, so he figured it was worth a shot, and Jaune had always had a much higher level of tolerance for white collar and petty crime than most of his friends, considering that he paid a forger to get into Beacon.

 

Also, because it was Mercury. Fuck that guy.

 

'Well, an extra couple hundred lien won't hurt when I try to find a ride.' Jaune wandered around for a bit, looking for a merchant that dealt in electronics. He found one only a short walk from the pastry stall that was selling scrolls.

 

"Well for a possible lucid dream, this is awfully convenient.. Ah screw it. I'm getting Yangry." This was like being hangry, except your hair was on fire, and Jaune was pretty sure that there was smoke starting to rise from his head at that very moment.

 

He strode up to the merchant with all the confidence of someone who was convinced that everything around him was possibly, maybe not real. "Excuse me, I'd like to sell a scroll."

 

Jaune held up the scroll for inspection, causing the eyes of the merchant to widen. "W-where did you get this?" The man licked his lips nervously as he reached a shaking hand toward the scroll.

 

"Oh, it's one of my old ones. I wanted to get rid of it since I'm not using it anymore, and figured that I could make some quick cash. Interested?"

 

"Y-yes! I will offer you 10,000 lien for this scroll!"

 

_ 'What the actual Ozpin? Is this guy seriously offering me 10,000 for a scroll?' _ Growing up with seven sisters, Jaune was no stranger to bargaining, and knew how to shop with the best of them. "15,000," he said after a moment.

 

There was only one rule of bartering in the Arc household: Go for the throat, and don't stop until the salesman is a broken, gibbering wreck of shattered dreams. Bonus points for tears.

 

"S-sir, I swear to you that 12,000 is all the money I have right now, and still be able to feed my family! But I assure you right now that I can give it to you in cash this very moment!"

 

"Okay," Jaune decided after some thought. He wanted to stop just before the guy got to the actual tears since they were in Vacuo and the poor guy needed every bit of water he could get.

 

"Oh thank you, Sir! I promise on the lives of my children you will not regret this day that you struck a deal with Abu Hassan!"

 

"Uh, yeah. Now about my money..."

 

"Oh of course, of course, sir! Here!"

 

A bit of shuffling stuff around later, and Jaune was walking back toward the pastry stall with a tight grip on his pack, and his head on a swivel. _ 'It's cool, Jaune. Be cool. You are just a guy in an extremely crowded public place, carrying a small fortune in lien, and about to get lunch at a street stall. Everything is fine.' _

 

'Is it just me, or are there a lot of faunus in this crowd?' There were quite a few faunus in the area, easily spotted not necessarily because of their animal features but because of how shabby and dirty they looked.

 

They all seemed to be staring at him. Jaune could feel their eyes tracking him with their hungry gaze as he placed his order at the bakery stall.  _ 'Oh God, this will not end well. This is how Weiss people get shot...' _

 

Jaune's anxiety was so great that he nearly missed the hand that reached under his to snag the food he had just paid for.

 

The thief would have made a clean getaway, if the food didn't seem to vanish right in front of him just as he reached for it.

 

Acting on the instincts that Pyrrha had drilled into him, Jaune kicked out with his foot. There was a startled, high pitched squeak, and a small child seemed to materialize out of nothing.

 

He wasn't sure what gender the kid was, considering that they were small and wearing little more than a collection of rags, but that didn't matter much at the moment.

 

With a couple of quick steps, Jaune was standing over the child, close enough to grab them up and prevent them from simply bolting if he had to. The kid had taken a nasty fall, and even though he was still new to his semblance, he could at least look the kid over and heal their injuries..

 

The kid was sprawled out in the middle of the street, so the first order of business was to help them up so he could get a look at their injuries. However, just as he reached out to gently lift them to their feet, the child tensed, curling into a ball.

 

Jaune's heart immediately went into his throat.  _ 'The kid is trying to make a smaller target and protect their body. They expect me to beat them...' _

 

Vivid lucid dream or not, Jaune's big brother instincts were immediately roused.  _ 'Must Protecc!' _ he declared firmly. As gently as he could, Jaune reached out and gripped the kid's arms, lifting them to their feet. The large clothes the kid was wearing did nothing to mask how light the child was.

 

It felt like he was gripping a skeleton that happened to have flesh stretched over it, the child was so light. He couldn't see much of the kid's face, thanks to all the wraps they were wearing to keep the sun and sand out of their face, but he could definitely hear the panicked breathing.

 

"It's okay," Jaune assured in his gentlest tone, the one used the world over to soothe upset toddlers and skittish animals, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to take a look at your injuries, you took quite the tumble, there. Is that alright?"

 

The kid stiffened like a board in his arms, as he set them on their feet. He kept his arms on the child's shoulders, though, and discreetly began to pump a bit of aura into his hands to begin the healing process.

 

The cuts on the kid's hands began to disappear almost immediately, and he heard their startled gasp of surprise as they stared in wonder. Jaune smiled gently. "There, doesn't that feel better?"

 

The kid didn't answer, not that he expected one, but they didn't move when he lifted his hands away from their arms, which he took as a good sign. It let him do a quick inspection for any other injuries.

 

He was about to offer to buy the kid lunch, when someone else decided to involve themselves rather roughly in the middle of Jaune's delicate negotiations. "Oi! What's all this then?! Damn gutter prigs, always skulking about!" One of the guards from the entrance, a large man in a military uniform stalked his way through the crowd, which had gone silent, parting for him with ease.

 

The man punctuated his angry declaration by reaching out to roughly grab the child, causing them to cry out, and whimper in distress as the burly soldier roughly clutched their arm, and made to bodily throw the kid away like the trash he thought them to be.

 

_ 'Fuck. That.’ _

 

Just as the the guard lifted the small child up, Jaune was in his face, gripping the wrist that was holding the child's arm, and squeezing with all his aura enhanced strength. "What do you think you're doing, asshole?! That's a kid! Let. Them. Go. NOW!"

 

Military training or no, the man had no unlocked aura. He was no Huntsman. So, when Jaune applied enough pressure, he could hear the man's bones groaning in protest, even through his armor.

 

The guardsman let out a pained whimper of his own, releasing the kid to roughly fall to the ground again.

 

With a negligent shove, Jaune sent the man rolling backwards to sprawl into a heap a few stalls away. The crowd began to come alive again, talking in startled murmurs and excited tones as Jaune bent down to once again tend to his patient's injuries.

 

_ 'This poor kiddo could really use a bath to go with the meal _ ...' Jaune thought absently as he catalogued the dirt caked skin that was once again riddled with cuts, especially where the wraps protecting their face had been shredded and loosened by the fall.

 

He started with the arm that the guard had grabbed, first, which wasn't broken, by some miracle, just sprained. Next he moved on to the cuts. The entire time, the kid kept their head down, refusing to look at him, so his reassuring smiles did little good.

 

Instead, he spoke as gently and as deliberately as he could, explaining what he was healing, and what he was doing in the hope that understanding would help the kid stay calm.

 

It seemed to work, because the child stayed still, staring at the ground as he did his work. Once he was finished, he gave the kid another unseen smile, before moving on to the next item on his list: Getting them both a decent meal.

 

He was famished, and judging by the number of ribs he could count through the tattered garment the kid called a shirt, he doubted they had ever had a decent meal.

 

"Would you like something to eat?" Jaune asked gently. "I'm hungry, and since you tried to steal my now crushed pastry a moment ago, I'm betting you could use something to eat." The kid stiffened in surprise, but still refused to show their face.

 

"Tell you what, I don't know much about this town, but I bet a smart, quick kid like yourself knows all the good spots. Why don't you show me where you want to go, and I'll buy you some food, okay?"

 

Jaune gave another smile, doing his best to project as much warmth and sincerity into his tone as possible. He held out his hand for the kid to take. "I'm Jaune, by the way. Can you tell me your name?"

 

The kid barely looked between five and seven years old, but that was hard to tell, given how malnourished they were. He would be surprised if the kid even had a name, really. He was more surprised when the kid finally decided to look him in the eye.

 

He nearly recoiled in shock, but his protective instincts kept his hand outstretched, and the smile on his face as the kid finally made eye contact.

 

Jaune's mind raced a mile a minute as he considered the mystery of this small, impossible child before him.

 

Even though he couldn't see the distinctive hair, there was no mistaking the mocha complexion, or hard eyed gaze.

 

Somehow, someway, as utterly impossible as it was, there was a small child standing in front of him, eyeing his hand like a stray dog might a bear trap.

 

And that child was unmistakably Emerald Sustrai. 

 

**XXX**

 

Emerald was hungry again. This wasn’t a new feeling, far from it. As long as she could remember, Emerald had always felt the gnawing, empty feeling of hunger. With the ease of long practice, she took slow, deep breaths, willing her stomach to quiet down.

 

Today was a big day. Emerald awoke that morning from her usual spot huddled against the roof access door of a nearby clothes shop to find the merchants setting up stalls for the weekly open air market, a gimmick they came up with to trap tourists and commuters.

 

It was great. Tourists meant stupid people that didn’t know how to watch their wallets, or their surroundings, perfect for scoring food or lien from the unsuspecting. That meant that she would be able to eat for the first time this week. 

 

She nodded to some of the bigger kids as she crouched in an alley near the stalls and waited. Normally, even making eye contact with those stronger than her could be dangerous, because she could be seen as a threat, and beaten. During market days though, there was a truce among the orphans and other discarded refuse of the city.

 

There was usually plenty to go around, thanks to stupid tourists, and lazy guards. All grudges were forgotten, and the unwanted street urchins of the city worked together toward the common goal of being less hungry.

 

As she waited for the stalls to be set up, and the crowd of unsuspecting marks to arrive, she noticed there were others making their own preparations. One street over, in their usual corner, a few of the members of the Knockout Gang were setting up for their usual lost little girl routine.

 

The two young fox faunus twin girls would play lost, and lead their marks by that alley, where they would be "found" by some of the bigger kids, who would hug their marks in relief of their friend's safe return.

 

The good Samaritan always left the alley with a lighter purse.

 

It was impressive and irritating. It was impossible for her to run easy scams like that, since she was alone, and being a young girl on the streets meant that even begging could be dangerous.

 

Something that you learn very quickly on the street is that there were people out there hungry for things other than food.

 

She learned how to identify these people as a survival skill. They acted kind, but there was always something in the eyes, a darkness no soft tones or promises of warmth and safety could hide.

 

She'd seen enough remains of the kids that fell for that trap. Luckily, there were other ways of earning a full belly. She had skills she could rely on, she didn’t need other people. All she needed was the right opportunity…

 

Today was her lucky day as she spotted the perfect target: A distracted, sleep deprived mother stopping at a food stall to feed her spoiled brat of a son. She hated the kid instantly. 

 

His clothes were clean, and so was the rest of him. Kid looked like he had never missed a bath. Emerald doubted that he had ever been hungry, either; not with a mommy ready to get him something like ice-cream any time he asked.

 

Emerald had never even  _ tasted _ ice cream.

 

The mommy turned to say something to her kid, and sighed when she saw the mess he was making. She reached into her purse, and pulled out a bit of cloth as if by magic to clean her brat’s face. 

 

She smiled at him. Her touch was gentle. Emerald couldn’t hear what the woman said from here, but the look in her eyes was something she had never seen before; at least not directed at her. 

 

Her kid didn’t care, though. He glared at her, stomped his foot, and squirmed away from her as she continued to gently clean his face, all with that same smile and look in her eyes.

 

Emerald felt something dark worm its way into her chest as she watched them. Some new feeling that she did not understand. But she was angry. What was  _ wrong  _ with that kid, flinching away from his mother’s touch? She wasn’t even going to hit him! And he was angry at her!

 

She felt her anger growing as she continued to this spoiled brat and what she was increasingly certain was the world’s most patient mother that would never  _ ever _ punish her disgusting brat of a kid. 

 

And since the mother wouldn’t act, Emerald decided to do it for her. 

 

She waited until the kid’s squirming turned his face in her direction. All she needed was the briefest second of eye contact to put her plan into motion…. _ there! _

 

Their eyes met, even if the kid couldn’t see her, crouched as she was in the shadow of the alley. With a thought she projected the image of the kid’s hand holding the ice cream to be slightly off from where it actually was. So when the kid tried to left the ice cream to his face to take a bite, it fell right to the ground.

 

The kid burst into tears and Emerald felt another emotion she was seldom familiar with: satisfaction. Even if she didn’t understand  _ why  _ she had felt angry enough to waste her special skill when she wouldn’t even get food out of it, she wouldn’t change it.

 

She would do it again.

 

A few moments after the mother gently took her son’s hand and led him away, she was presented with her next opportunity to eat this week. This guy was the perfect example of a tourist: He was looking around at everything as if he had never seen it before, he was walking slowly, and he was dumb enough to make a show of rummaging around in his bag, showing that he had stuff to take.

 

He may as well have held up a sign asking to be robbed. 

 

Emerald wasn’t interested in any of that, though. She couldn’t sell any of the stuff she took from him, and money would just get stolen from her. That’s why she picked him; he was getting food. She could eat it on the run, and there would be no evidence in short order. A quick use of her powers, and he wouldn’t even know she had been there until it was too late.

 

He could just get more food. He had the money, after all.

 

With her prey picked out, she made sure that her wraps were covering her face. Her skill only worked on one person at a time, so the harder she was to identify in a crowd, the better.

 

Leaving the safety of the shadows, she moved through the crowd with ease, her small size being an advantage for once. When she was beside the stall, she waited for him to turn his head in her direction and struck.

 

She made the illusion of the food not arriving yet, even though it was sitting right there in front of him. It was some sort of meat bun thing. She had never had one before, and she was eager to try it. 

 

So of course everything had to go wrong as soon as she grabbed it.

 

She had no idea how this tall, blond tourist did it, but he knew something wasn’t right. He kicked out with his foot, faster than she could follow, and she tripped. 

 

She let out a squeak of distress as she was sent falling to the ground, her food for the week flying off into the crowd to no doubt get trampled by more stupid tourists. She almost cried. 

 

Emerald laid there on the ground, taking stock of her injuries. Her hands hurt, cut up from the dirt and rocks on the ground where she failed to break her fall. She’d likely have a few new bruises to go with the cuts. It didn’t matter. She’d just try again later, after her mark left.

 

_ ‘Wait...is....is he coming over here?! Shit!’  _ Life on the streets gave one a much more colorful vocabulary, regardless of age. Emerald was no exception. She began to panic, thoughts of other strangers with that scary dark hunger racing through her mind.

 

She curled into a ball instinctively to protect herself as she felt him standing over her. If she was lucky, she’d just get a kick to the ribs. If he didn’t hurt her too badly, she’d be able to stay out to get food. If he did, she was in real trouble. Broken bones weren’t fun.

 

She shut her eyes tightly, and waited for the first hit.

 

“It’s okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to take a look at your injuries, you took quite the tumble, there. Is that alright?"

 

_ ‘What? He’s gonna fix me? I...I don’t understand.’ _ Emerald didn’t trust the words of course. They were just words. They meant nothing. 

 

But the voice was very soft and gentle. No one had ever spoken to her that way before. She still didn’t trust it, of course, but it was different.

 

She tensed when she felt the man put his hands on her arms.  _ ‘So he wants to stand me up to beat me?’ _

 

She was shocked when the man’s touch wasn’t the rough grab of someone that wanted to teach her a lesson about stealing. The touch was soft, gentle.  _ ‘Is this what that brat felt when his mother wiped his face?’  _

 

She kept her eyes to the ground, and her shoulders slumped. If she looked as small and non-threatening as possible, the guy would take his hands off of her and she could make a break for it.

 

Apparently the blond giant expected that because he kept his hands on her shoulders. He didn’t squeeze, it wasn’t hurting her, but it was there. What was more unnerving than the gentle touch was the sudden wave of warmth that seemed to flow all over her skin, more than the sun at its hottest.

 

She was shocked when she noticed the blood from the cuts on her hands begin to dry up. She let out a gasp as she saw the cuts heal as she watched them.  _ ‘Is this magic?! I thought it wasn’t supposed to be real?!’  _

 

Fairytale or not, she could not deny the proof that was right in front of her. In fact, she put her weight on her left foot, and nearly gasped again. ‘ _ It doesn’t hurt!’ _

 

She discovered her special skill a couple years ago when she was attacked by a stray dog fighting her over a scrap of meat she found in the trash. The dog, mad with hunger, had bitten her leg. 

 

Her special skill let her get away, but the wound had scarred badly, leaving her with an ugly wound that hurt unless she moved slowly. When the man let go of her shoulders, she stayed still, but moved her hand to the back of her leg as slowly as possible, to confirm her suspicions.

 

When her hand touched healthy, unblemished skin, Emerald nearly cried, so great was the sheer absence of pain. She could feel the tears, but she wouldn’t let them fall. The man may not like that, and she wasn’t sure what he wanted yet.

 

“There now, doesn’t that feel better?” It did, but she still wasn’t sure that it was okay to speak, and making eye contact was always a risk, so she kept her eyes on the ground as she considered what to do next.   
  


That was when the day took a turn for the familiar.   
  


"Oi! What's all this then?! Damn gutter prigs, always skulking about!" Emerald nearly cursed out loud for making such a stupid mistake. She’d been out in the open too long and hadn’t kept her eyes on her surroundings, too distracted by her mark and his  _ magic powers. _

 

She suddenly felt large hands roughly grab her, and twist her arm behind her back. It was not gentle. She couldn’t help the whimper of pain that escaped her lips as the large man used his considerable strength to begin lifting her up.

 

He was going to throw her in an alley or something. All the gutter kids like her were just trash the same as that ice cream she’d made that kid drop earlier. Just something to be discarded out of sight and out of mind, and only paid attention to when the stink got too bad.

 

She began to brace herself for the inevitable impact when the day threw another surprise her way. 

 

The magic man was there. "What do you think you're doing, asshole?! That's a kid! Let. Them. Go. NOW!" Emerald couldn’t see it, but the magic man did  _ something _ because she felt the arm holding her suddenly let go. 

 

Unfortunately, she had been bracing for a forward motion, and not a downward one, so she landed on the ground roughly. She was cut again, nearly as bad as the ones before, since she could already see the blood. 

 

Still, she fought through the pain with the ease of long practice and pushed herself up to look for an exit. She had been here too long, and this situation was not good for her continued survival. 

 

As she began to look for a clear path forward, she saw another impossible thing. The magic man could  _ fight! _ She watched in amazement as he nearly lifted up the guard that was as wide as he was tall, in full armor, in one hand and shove him away like rotten food. 

 

She was so stupefied that she was still staring in amazement when the magic man approached her again. He kneeled down to look at her face, and she immediately averted her eyes. 

 

She heard him make a displeased noise in the back of his throat and fought the urge to flinch. He was probably mad she had ruined all the work he did healing her the first time.

 

She tensed as he placed his hands on her shoulders again, expecting a beating. Instead, he gently took her arm in his hands, the one the guard had twisted, and she felt the warmth again, soon accompanied by the amazing absence of pain. 

 

Next he moved on to the cuts, speaking to her slowly and gently, as he worked, explaining what he was doing. She didn’t understand a lot of the words, but somehow, knowing what he was doing, and what to expect calmed her. 

 

It was over soon, and aside from her ever present hunger, Emerald could never remember feeling this good. Nothing hurt! It was  _ amazing! _ Still, they had been her too long, and she had drawn too much attention to herself.

 

_ ‘Guess I’m not eating today, either…’ _ Emerald thought with a sigh. Still, if a little hunger was the price she paid for no more pain, it was worth it. He stomach chose that moment to cramp painfully.  _ ‘Well, almost no pain…’ _

 

"Would you like something to eat? I'm hungry, and since you tried to steal my now crushed pastry a moment ago, I'm betting you could use something to eat."

 

Emerald winced at the reminder of her botched attempt to steal his food, but she was even more astounded at the offer. He was just going to offer her food? After she tried to  _ steal _ from him? 

 

She didn’t understand. She had no frame of reference for this. It went against every rule of the street, every survival instinct she had ever known. He had even healed her! 

 

"Tell you what, I don't know much about this town, but I bet a smart, quick kid like yourself knows all the good spots. Why don't you show me where you want to go, and I'll buy you some food, okay?"

 

Emerald nearly sighed in relief. A trade. This, she was familiar with. She’d show the guy around, and in return, get food for her trouble. She relaxed as the world began to make sense again.

 

Only to tense up as the magic man held his hand out to her. 

 

She stared at it warily, expecting it to lash out and strike her at any moment. She wasn’t sure what this meant. As discreetly as she could, Emerald chanced a look at his face, repressing her urge to wince as they made eye contact.

 

There were a lot of emotions there. Things she couldn’t identify. They were soft, and warm, and so alien to what she was used to that before this moment, she would have said that such a look did not exist.

 

At least not when people looked at  _ her.  _

 

But for some reason she found herself thinking of that ice cream brat from earlier. The way he had acted when his mother looked at him, gently cleaning up his mess, and then taking his hand to pull him along with her.

 

She could see all those things now, even if she couldn’t identify them. The magic man’s eyes were just like the mother’s. And Emerald wouldn’t make the same mistake as the ice cream brat.

 

Decision made, Emerald decided to do something she never had before. She decided not to be alone.

 

**XXX**

 

Jaune wasn’t surprised when Emerald led him to the downtown area so quickly. She led him through a labyrinth of twists, turns, and streets that he would have easily gotten lost in, with the ease and speed of a native.

 

What  _ was _ surprising was the date on the holographic clock display he passed on the way to the restaurant section of the city. ‘ _ Somehow, my childhood fantasy has come to pass. I am now Doctor When, only I have no idea how this happened, and I lack the boyish charm and good looks of David Tangerine…’  _

 

Jaune was in the past.

 

Exactly one decade in the past from yesterday’s date to be specific. His first thought was to be cautious, not to change the events of history too much, so he could then change the events he wanted later.

 

Luckily, this thought was brief, and his years of unknowingly training for this moment by spending his youth reading comics came to the fore. Trying not to change history when his very  _ presence  _ made that useless was the height of stupidity. No use angsting over it like some brooding teenager.

 

With that out of the way, and a reminder that all of his older relatives were happily married, and he was not at risk of a potential grandfather paradox, Jaune decided to relax, get some food, and plan.   


  
You couldn’t bend space and time to your will on an empty stomach, and Jaune planned to do just that.  _ ‘I am going to change  _ everything!’ 

 

Luckily for his stomach, and ability to plan, they had arrived at their destination: a collection of several restaurants offering a variety of food. One problem was solved, and yet another had arisen. Emerald had stopped leading him. 

 

Some time during all of his pondering over the fact that he was in the past, Emerald had stopped moving, instead choosing to stand by his side, still clutching his hand, and looking at him as if she had no idea what to do.

 

_ ‘She probably doesn’t,’  _ Jaune realized,  _ ‘She’s probably never been into one of these restaurants before, and needs me to make a decision. Well in that case…’ _

 

“How does a buffet sound?”

 

He was met with a blank stare.

 

Jaune smiled, tapping his fingers on his thigh as he thought. “A buffet is a restaurant where you pay some money, but you get to eat as much as you want. How does that sound?”

 

This time he got a wide-eyed eager nod that was so fast, Jaune was afraid she was going to give herself whiplash. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and began to lead her along in search of a buffet that had a decent price. 

 

And served dessert. His newly adopted kiddo was going to enjoy the most important food group of childhood even if he had to hijack a kitchen and make it himself…

 

**XXX**

Today was a day of new experiences. When she woke up this morning, Emerald was simply expecting another day of trying not to die, and hopefully getting to eat something. She did not expect to meet an actual wizard out of a fairytale wielding actual magic.

 

Who also had access to magical restaurants. When you could go to a place and eat as much as you wanted, what else could it be but magic?

 

Regardless, she planned to eat as much as she could, and hope that it was enough to finally make the ever-present gnawing pain in her stomach stop. As the magic man led her past the groups of people, and into a room with some sort of ground that felt like soft cloth, and had a lot of empty places to sit, she began to scan the area to find the source of the amazing food smells.

 

The magic man laughed, smiling at her and gently squeezed her hand. “Relax. Once we sit down, and they bring us our drinks, I’ll take you around to all the food, okay?”

 

Emerald nodded, and decided that they weren’t sitting down fast enough. She pulled on his hand, and led him to the first table she could reach. He laughed and followed.

 

A woman dressed in a bright red shirt arrived to take their order, but paused to glance at her like she wanted to throw her out. That didn’t bother her too much. No one wanted gutter kids around. She couldn’t do anything to her though. Emerald was with the magic man.

 

The lady came back quickly with their drinks: water that was clear and cold. Magic was  _ everywhere _ with the wizard around. After she took a few sips of the magic water, the magic man took her hand again, and handed her a flat disk thing. 

 

“It’s a plate. It’s what you put your food on.”

 

She nodded. If using this plate thing got her food, she wouldn’t complain. 

 

“Now I know that this seems like a lot…”   
  
Was he kidding? She wished she had another three noses at least so she could just smell all the smells! And she really needed more than one mouth to eat all this food! She doubted the whole city could eat all the food that was here!

 

“...but you are going to want to take it slow, okay? Your body isn’t used to eating as much as it needs so we have to start you off with smaller portions.” 

That was totally fine. She just wanted food. Any food, really.    
  
They started at a section that had a lot of green stuff that the magic man insisted was food. It looked like tree leaves. Well, some of it was orange or purple, but still…

 

Next she got a scoop of something that was called potatoes, and actual meat that was called “chicken.”    
  
A weird name for food, but Emerald wasn’t going to argue. She just wanted it to get in her mouth.

 

They ended at one of the nicest smelling areas, where Emerald was given a roll that was shiny, brown, and nearly as big as her whole head! There was no way that she could eat the whole thing!

 

The magic man just smiled, patted the top of her head, (which was something she wasn’t sure how to feel about) and led her back to their table.

 

Once they sat back down, Emerald pulled her plate to her, and surrounded it with her arms to make sure no one could take it from her, before grabbing the roll, and taking as big a bite as she could.

 

“Easy there, kiddo! Slow down, you’ll choke!”

 

Ha! As if! She knew how to chew, thank you very much, Mr. Wizard!

 

To prove her point, she stared him down as she chewed her roll, and only broke eye contact once she swallowed. 

 

He laughed again, and reached across the table to pat her head. She glared, but didn’t pull away since she still hadn’t made up her mind whether or not she enjoyed it. Once she proved her ability to chew by finishing the giant roll, the mashed potatoes were next on her list.

 

It was here that she encountered another obstacle to ending her hunger: Mashed potatoes were very hard to eat with her hands.

 

“Having trouble? Here, let me show you…” The wizard got up from his chair, and moved his plate to the chair next to her own. “I’m sorry. I should have led with this, I wasn’t thinking. Okay, time for your first lesson: table manners!”

 

What followed was one of the strangest experiences in all of Emerald’s young life. Apparently rich people put slips of paper called napkins on their laps so that they didn’t get food on their clothes. 

 

And they didn’t use their hands to eat. Instead they used metal tools to stab, cut, or scoop the food into their mouths. Learning how to hold a food knife was weird.  _ ‘If I tried to stab anyone holding a knife like this, I’d be dead in a heartbeat…’ _

 

Her hands started to cramp up from having to hold the food knife and the weird stabby thing called a “fork” the way the wizard insisted. She scowled at the stupid metal things when she failed to cut the chicken for the third time. Three times it had denied her now! 

 

‘ _ Can the wizard see if I use my special skill? He’s right there! If I’m careful, he’ll never know I did it, and I can use my hands to eat like a normal person!’  _

 

Apparently the wizard could also read minds because he stopped smiling, eyes becoming serious as he said “It won’t work on me, Emerald. I know when you’re using it.”   
  
She scowled. He could read minds, and he already knew her name? Did that mean he owned her now? That’s how it worked in the fairytales, at least the ones she would hear from the storytellers that would perform during the open market days.    
  
“Tell ya what, kiddo, let’s make a deal. You promise to try your best to really learn how to eat with the utensils…” he nodded at the metal tools, “and you can have some dessert. How’s that sound?”   
  
Dessert? The fuck was that? Could she eat it?

 

Her confusion must not have been the reaction that he wanted because he started talking again. “Ice cream for a start. Does that sound good?”

 

Another deal? She would get to try ice cream?! Magic was  _ awesome!  _

 

She nodded, but apparently that wasn’t good enough. “I need you to answer me with words this time, Emerald. Can you do that? Tell me, please. Do we have a deal, yes or no?”

 

She had to say it for the magic to work? ‘ _ Makes sense. It’s the same in the stories…’ _

 

Emerald thought for a moment, even as the magic man smiled at her with that same not-mean smile. It was weird. She’d gone her entire life with no one even looking at her without trying to hurt her or steal her sleep spot. Now she’d found out that magic was real, and the wizard smiled at her. Plus she was getting ice cream! If that meant she had to say the words so that the magic man could own her soul or whatever, it was worth it!

 

Her voice was scratchy and soft from disuse. Being quiet was a survival skill on the streets. Still, she managed to say what the magic man wanted. “Yes.”

 

He smiled and patted her head again. “Great! Now remember, Emerald, you have to really try to use the utensils, okay? This is something you really have to learn, and you won’t get dessert until your food is gone…”

 

She stared at him, confused. Of course she was going to eat all the food. She would have already if it wasn’t for the fork and that stupid food knife that she was pretty sure wasn’t a knife at all.

 

She ended up making more of a mess than she realized, because the next thing she knew, the wizard was holding out another napkin, and wiping her face. She recoiled at first, but he just smiled at her.

 

She couldn’t help but think of that ice cream brat, and the similarities between the wizard and that mommy. The look in their eyes was similar, and his touch was very gentle.

 

She didn’t pull away from him when he continued cleaning her. She would accept it, if it was the price of getting to eat as much as she wanted. Once she finished her plate, she experienced even more magic: her stomach didn’t hurt anymore!

 

Her constant companion, the ever-present hunger that had been with her on the streets as long as she could remember was no longer there. She wasn’t entirely sure what to feel. Much like the absence of pain earlier when the magic man healed her, this was nearly overwhelming. She had nothing to compare it to.

 

She found herself fighting back tears again, with no idea why. It was all very confusing, but that was normal for today. Magic was real, and she was eating for the first time this week. That was all that was important.

 

‘Hey you finished all your food! Even the veggies, and you used the knife and fork! I’m impressed!”

 

Veggies? Did he mean the green leaves? Well of course she ate it, it was  _ food! _ She was starting to feel sleepy now, though.

 

Usually on the street she couldn’t afford to sleep much, especially during the day. Now though, she almost couldn’t help it. She felt warm, and very….loose? Usually she stayed tense, ready to move because on the street there was no telling when something would come along to steal your stuff or hurt you.

 

Now though, she doubted she could run if she needed to. She was having trouble focusing on much of anything other than the pleasant warmth and not hunger in her stomach. She was pretty sure she was going to fall asleep in this chair, surrounded by all these people.

 

Even though this was very dangerous, she was just too not hungry to care. She could feel her eyes closing…

 

“You still awake, Emerald? I guess you’re too full for ice cream, huh?” the wizard asked with a laugh.

 

And she was back! She felt as awake and ready to move as she ever had, like that time she was chased by the hungry dog. It was time for ice cream!

 

“I thought that’d do it. Okay, Emerald, let’s go. A promise is a promise, and you did well with your table manners. I’m proud of you!”

 

She wasn’t sure what that word meant, but hearing him say it, and smiling at her made her feel...something. She wasn’t sure  _ what _ but that was no surprise. Her best guess was that it was more not pain feelings.

 

She barely even stopped to look when the magic man handed her another thing he called a dish. This one was kinda round, but had a hole in the bottom. He called it a “bowl”. More rich people stuff.

 

He led her to a machine which was where ice cream came from That explained why she had never even been able to steal some before. It came from magic machines. He took the bowl from her hands, and pulled down on this weird stick thing that stuck out from the machine.

 

Very slowly the ice cream dripped into the bowl. There were three different colors. One was very white, like the wraps she was wearing used to be when she stole them from a merchant. The next color matched her skin almost exactly, except it was a bit darker. The last color was very bright, light red, and had chunks of red stuff in it.    
  
The wizard handed her back the bowl and pointed to each of the different colored ice creams. “There are lots of flavors of ice cream, but these are the main ones.” He pointed to each in turn, “Chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.”

 

So that’s what the ice cream that the brat had had earlier was called, vanilla. Now that she knew its name, did that mean she had power over the ice cream? Probably not, since she didn’t have magic. Maybe the wizard would teach her?

 

He grabbed another plate, and led her further into the “dessert” area, getting a bunch of weird things. Stuff called “brownies”, and “cookies”, and “fruit”. He pointed to the fruit with his fork. “This is so I can eat more cookies and brownies. This way they taste less like shame.”

 

She didn’t know what shame was, but Emerald wasn’t going to argue with magic.

 

Once they were back at their table, Emerald used her spoon (the right way!) to scoop a small bit of each ice cream onto her tongue to try it first. The vanilla was very sweet, but something was not there. She wasn’t sure what. It was  _ good,  _ she’d never had anything so sweet before, but something was missing. 

 

The strawberry had chunks of what the wizard had called “fruit” in it, which helped it get its color. It tasted better than the vanilla, but it still seemed to be missing something…

 

When she tried the chocolate, the world exploded. 

 

Well, it didn’t  _ really  _ explode, it just felt like it. Everything seemed like it was so much  _ more! _ How had she gone her entire life without knowing this existed? ‘ _ Chocolate is the greatest food ever!’  _ She stared at her spoon in wonder.

 

The magic man laughed. “Yeah, Pyrrha had the same reaction when I finally convinced her to try chocolate for the first time. It was adorable.”   
  
Emerald wasn’t sure who this Pyrrha person was, but she instantly agreed with her. Chocolate was awesome.

 

“Here, try a bit of my chocolate brownie, and one of the chocolate chip cookies. They have chocolate in them, but it’s going to feel different on your tongue.” the wizard warned.   
  
Cautiously, she took the small piece of cookie and brownie that he handed her. Sure it had chocolate in it, but they were still new. They were both awesome, it turned out, but she liked the cookie the best. It felt better on her tongue. They also both tasted really good with ice cream.

 

Ice cream made everything taste better.

 

“Heh. Glad you liked your first desserts. Were they good?”

 

She nodded, but he just kept looking at her like he wanted something else. Then she remembered, she had to speak for the magic to work. “Yes. It was...not pain.”

 

“Do you mean good?” the wizard asked after a bit.

  
  
Emerald shrugged.

  
  
“Hmm. We need to work on your vocabulary so you know how to use more words. Do you know how to read?”

 

Another shrug.

  
  
“I should have expected that. Sorry, I don’t know what I was thinking. Okay, so it looks like we have more shopping to do than I thought. That’s fine. But first…”

 

The magic man stuck his arm up and waved. The same mean lady from before came waddling over in her bright red shirt. “Did you need more drinks?” she asked, nose scrunched up slightly as she looked at her.

 

Emerald glared back.

 

“No, I think we’re fine. I was hoping we could get a small to go box so we could take a few more cookies home…”

 

The woman didn’t even try to hide her meanness as she said “I’m sorry sir, but we don’t let customers take food home. You have to finish all of your food here.”

 

_ ‘This bitch…. _ ’ Emerald barely resisted the urge to pick up her food knife and test its sharpness on the woman’s face. The wizard just laughed, though. “Yeah, that’s what I figured. It’s fine. Hear that, Emerald? Looks like you can only eat one more cookie.”   
  
“If that will be all, I have other tables…”

 

“Sure, sure. Thanks for the help!” 

 

The mean woman left, but still kept looking at them. The magic man led her back to the dessert place, and put one cookie on a plate. “Emerald, you know your special ability that you used on me earlier?”

 

She nodded. “Good. Well  _ I  _ knew you were using it, but it should work just fine on her. I need you to watch her while I load up more cookies onto this plate, okay? Make sure she only sees one cookie.”

 

Emerald stared at the one cookie on the plate, fixing the image of it firmly into her mind. She nodded. “Good girl.”He patted her head again.

 

Every time the mean lady would look at them, or really  _ her _ , Emerald used her special power to make sure she only saw the one cookie, while the wizard piled all the chocolate chip cookies onto his plate, and led them back to their table.   
  
“Is she looking at us?”   


  
“Not now.”   


  
“Good. That makes this easier.” the magic man put his bag under the table, before bending down to get something out of it. “Okay, I need you to keep an eye out while I secure our dessert, okay? Don’t be afraid to use your powers. She deserves it for trying to keep us away from our sweets. "  
  
Emerald firmly agreed.

 

The magic man pulled a clear bag out of his other, bigger bag, and dumped the whole plate of cookies into it, before zipping up the top and giving her a wink. He calmly slipped it back into his larger bag, which he closed back up.

 

“I grew up with a lot of sisters,” he explained, “They would always slip desserts into their purses for later to share. I’m just continuing the Arc family tradition!” 

 

‘ _ I don’t know what that big word is, but who cares? Cookies!’  _

 

The magic man patted her head, collected their stuff, and led her out of the restaurant.

 

**XXX**

  
  


He decided on full disclosure. As Momma Arc always said, honesty is the best policy, and he couldn’t very well ask her to lead him to some potentially very dangerous people without letting her know why. It went against all of his protecctive instincts.

Now he just needed to figure out the best way to explain the fact that he had travelled back in time, and was planning to save the world, one adoption at a time? Ah! Of course!

  
  
“Emerald, what’s your favorite  _ Doctor When _ episode?”

  
  
“What’s  _ Doctor When?” _

 

Jaune gasped in horror. “You don’t know  _ Doctor When? _ ! You know, I really shouldn’t be surprised by this at all, since I ran into you on the street. Okay, that settles it, once we get somewhere with a disk player, we are definitely watching the modern series, since I have them all with me. This really ruins my analogy, though.”

  
  
“Ana-what?”

  
  
“Nevermind. Look, I need to know if you can keep a secret, okay?”

  
  
Jaune was relieved when she nodded. “Good. Okay…” He really had no idea how to explain the intricacies of the space time continuum to a child. That was David Tangerine’s job. 

 

In the end, he decided to just go for it and hope for the best. “I’m from the future. What you call tomorrow?”

  
  
“You’re from tomorrow?”

  
  
“Yes, kind of! Imagine a bunch of tomorrows stuck together to make a week. Then those weeks turn into months, which became-”

 

“Years.”

  
  
Jaune blinked in surprise. “You know what years are?”

  
  
“Yes. It’s when the time goes from the colored sparkles in the sky to Maiden’s Day and back again. They always shout out Happy New Year. And the rich people always talk about Maiden’s Day being the end of the year.”

  
  
“Well yeah, that’s right.” This was going to be simpler than he thought. “So imagine that I am from a lot of years in the future. Ten of them. Do you know your numbers? No, wait, stupid question. It doesn’t matter, we can work on that later.” Comics would be a help there. Pictures made reading easier.

  
  
“So, magic.”

  
  
“I’m sorry?”

 

“You’re magic.” the look she gave him as she said this was a bit disconcerting coming from someone he had just taught to eat with silverware a few minutes ago. It was world weary, like she wasn’t surprised by anything anymore. Even magic.

 

Technically she wasn’t wrong. To the untrained civilian aura and semblances may as well be magic. 

 

“Yeah, okay, let’s go with that. So, I’m here to save the world. In the time I come from, lots of bad things happen, and people get hurt. I want to fix it.” That was a watered down version of what he was doing, but it was simple enough for a kid to understand.

  
  
“You’re a wizard. Like the fairytales.”

  
  
‘ _ Did she just….ahahahahahaha! Oh man, if he could die, I bet Ozpin would be rolling in his grave!’ _

 

“Uh, yeah, close enough for educational work. Okay, so, since I am a magic wizard, I can’t use my real name, because I can’t risk getting confused with my past self.”

  
  
“What?”   


  
Things were going so well..   


  
“I need a new name. Can you take me to someone that can get me one?”

 

The panicked look she gave him was not what he expected. Thinking quickly, he knelt down so that they were eye level, and gently grasped her shoulders. “Emerald, hey. Relax. It’s okay. You don’t have to take me anywhere. You can leave right now it you want to…”

 

The panic became worse. She started to tremble in his arms. “Crap! Emerald, I didn’t mean that you have to leave right now! I mean that you can choose what you want to do! You don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to!”   
  
Slowly the trembling subsided, but she still looked panicked. So, Jaune went for the ultimate Arc Family comfort maneuver. He wrapped his arms around her, and gently pulled Emerald into a hug. 

 

The trembling stopped, but that was only because she’d gone stiff as a board in his arms. So, Jaune started to talk to her, using the same comforting tone his mom used when he was sick, and she’d rock him to sleep. 

 

“ _ Shhhh. _ It’s okay. You’re okay.” 

 

He repeated this mantra for what felt like five minutes as the crowd around them kept going about their business, giving them a wide berth. The middle of the street outside a restaurant wasn’t the best place for this, but that didn’t matter.

 

Emerald needed to know she was safe.

 

Eventually the trembling stopped, and he slowly released Emerald from what he suspected was her first hug ever. It was just something else he needed to add to the list of things to teach her.

 

“Feel better?”

 

He was relieved when she gave him a shaky nod. She seemed surprised to discover that her face was wet with tears. She probably hadn’t had what his sisters called “the luxury of a good cry” living on the street.

 

It almost made him want to cry himself. He didn’t though. There were things to do.

 

“I wasn’t trying to get rid of you, Emerald. You can stay with me as long as you want. I just meant that you didn’t have to show me to a person that can give me a new name if they scared you. I can find them myself…”   
  
That was going to be a long process, since his entire plan in that regard was to find the dankest back-alley with the shadiest looking person he could and hope they had the information he needed. 

She seemed surprised when he explained that she could choose what she wanted to do. That surprise left quickly though, to be replaced with what Jaune guessed was determination.

 

“Hang on. If you are so convinced that we are going to be in danger…” Jaune steered them out of the crowded street so he could have room to slip on his armor. Once he was fully dressed, he gave Emerald a smile. “You okay?” 

 

“Okay.” She reached for his hand, and began to lead him once more through the streets of Vacuo.

 

To Jaune’s disappointment, they didn’t have to travel down a single dank alley to reach their goal. Instead, Emerald led them down several blocks to a small, well-kept office building that shared its parking lot with a noodle shop of all things.

 

They travelled up three flights of stairs, and passed five identical doors before Emerald finally stopped.

 

“So you want me to knock?”

 

She nodded.

 

He couldn’t argue with that adorable face. They were greeted moments later by a large, muscular man in a well-tailored suit. “A human? What’d ya want, kid?”

 

“I was hoping to speak to someone about getting a new name for myself. I have money, and I can pay.”   
  
The goon glared at him. “Wait here,” and shut the door in their faces. 

 

“Well he seems...friendly.” Jaune decided. He smiled down at Emerald, hoping she would relax the death grip she’d had on his hand since the door opened. “Don’t worry, Em. This is just a  quick trip. We pay some money, get a cool new name, and leave!”

 

Her grip tightened even more when the door opened again. Luckily Jaune was already concentrating on reinforcing as much of his body as he could with his aura, just in case. He wasn’t stupid.

 

The goon, who revealed himself to be a dog faunus based on his tail, led them through a tastefully decorated apartment that seemed to be designed to project an image of elegance and wealth.

 

_ ‘Looks kinda tacky, really.’  _ Jaune thought as they were led into an office at the back of the apartment. The goon left them to take up a spot on the far wall, behind the desk and plush office chair that dominated the room.

 

Jaune took in his surroundings at a glance, Pyrrha’s lessons about being aware of the environment were now instinctive. There were several gaudy nicknacks displayed on a bookcase to the left of the large office desk, which Jaune could improvise as weapons if he needed to. 

 

He hoped he wouldn’t have to but having options made him feel better, especially since there were two other bodyguards stationed by a door on the other side of the room. Their suspicious glares and hands near their hips made it very clear that they were not welcome.

 

The guards relaxed slightly, straightening their posture into something more professional as the new door opened, admitting a man dressed in one of the silk robes common in Mistral.

 

The man sat down in the office chair with a flourish, taking a moment to smooth the nonexistent wrinkles from his robe, and adjust one of the many golden rings on his fingers, before giving them his attention.   
  
“My associates say you have business with me? Well, speak up, boy! Time is money!”

 

“Well, I need a new name on the books, and I was told you’re the man to see. I’m willing to pay. In cash.”   
  
“Oh I have no doubt of that, else we wouldn’t be having this conversation. My fee is 12,000.”   
  
Jaune nearly laughed at the outrageous sum. It had only cost him 2,000 for the fake transcripts to get into Beacon.  _ ‘There is no way I’m paying this guy all of the money I  _ just  _ got for this.’ _ It was time to barter.

 

“That is way too much for me. There’s no way I’m going to pay that much money for something that will not even take you a day. You won’t even have to leave your office to update the digital census records, and you’ll make 3,000 just like that.”

 

The man laughed uproariously, clapping his hands like a delighted child. “I’m impressed you can say that with a straight face, boy! It takes some big balls to come in here and try to barter with me. Do you even know who I am?”   
  
Jaune glared as he bent down to place his hands over Emerald’s ears. “Other than a guy that needs to learn to watch his language around young, impressionable children, and is willing to take 3,000 lien to get me a new identity? No, I can’t say that I do.”

 

The man peered over his desk, seeming to just notice that there was a small child in the room. “I see. Argent!” the man snapped his fingers, and the bodyguard that had led them here was at his employer’s side. “Make certain that all the rugs the street urchin walked on are burned later. There’s no telling what diseases she’s carrying.”

 

The man smiled at them. “I believe you lack the proper context for this conversation. Once you understand who I am, you will see that there is no other way this deal will go but mine. I am Albastru Caioe.”

 

The man paused, likely for dramatic effect, and flashed them a smile that revealed the barest hint of fangs. ‘ _ So he’s a Faunus too.’ _ When neither of them reacted, other than to hide further behind Jaune in Emerald’s case, Albastru elaborated. “I control every bit of gambling in this city.”   
  
That gave Jaune pause; not because he was afraid, but because there may just be a way out of this that didn’t end in violence. Part of his training with Pyrrha had involved studying the famous fights of other tournament champions in order to learn tactics. 

 

Fights that hadn’t happened yet.

 

“Today is the tenth, isn’t it? There’s an SDC sponsored mid-level tournament in three days. Chrysopsaro Gavatha will win in the first ten minutes by knockout because his opponent is going to fight with the flu.”

 

Caioe steepled his fingers in front of his face. Jaune thought it made him look like a villain in a cartoon. “Very interesting, Mister..?”

 

“Jaune. Just Jaune. And this is Emerald.”

 

Albastru gave a lilting laugh. “Very well, Mr. Jaune. A moment, please.” Albastru snapped his fingers again and one of the guards disappeared into the room Caioe had come from to return with his scroll. Caioe gave them another smile, and Jaune watched him dial a number before the video connection picked up, revealing a shadowed figure. “Yes, sir?”

  
  
“I need a new name for a customer. The works, usual rates.”   


  
“Sure thing, boss. What’s the name?”

 

Caioe turned to him, and Jaune thought furiously. He didn’t want to change his name too much. It would take too long to get used to and he was bound to slip up…”Jaune Arkos.”

 

“Did you get that?” Albastru asked, pointing at a spot on the floor for Jaune to stand.

 

“Yes, sir. We just need a picture and Mr. Jaune Arkos will be in the system. You want me to add the girl with him too?”

 

Jaune nodded. “Her name is Emerald.”

 

“Very well. I’m feeling generous. Go ahead. Come stand over here for your pictures.”

 

Two pictures, and twenty minutes later, it was done. Jaune and Emerald Arkos were officially real people according to public records.

 

Jaune handed the man 4,000 lien, “For adding Emerald. Just invest this on that fight, and you’ll double your money easily.”

 

“Hmm. I like you, Mr. Arkos, despite your questionable taste in accessories.” Jaune didn’t miss his eyes dart briefly to Emerald. He gently patted her head, even as he pulled her further behind him. “That is a very good thing, since we will be getting to know each other very well over the next few days while we await the outcome of Gavatha’s fight.”

 

That made sense. It was part of his payment, but that didn’t mean Jaune trusted him. Something was definitely off with Caioe and his faunus minions. ‘ _ Plus, the way this guy talks about Emerald really pisses me off.’ _

 

Jaune smiled at the man, even as he backed up toward the door, keeping Emerald behind him, and the guards in sight. “Well, as much as I’ve enjoyed this visit to your lovely office, I’m afraid I have to decline your invitation for a sleepover. I’m pretty busy right now, and just can’t find the time in my busy social schedule.” 

 

“I’m afraid I must insist, Mr. Arkos. I really don’t want to have to convince you. Blood stains can be very difficult to get out of wood.”

 

The three bodyguards weren’t idle during this exchange. They advanced as a group to box their targets in. Jaune watched them warily, doing his best to guide Emerald toward the door as he retreated, so he would have room to draw Corcea Mors if he had to, and she could escape if things turned ugly.

 

He hoped things wouldn’t escalate too badly. He had no desire to seriously hurt anyone. These people may have been intimidating, but Jaune was willing to bet his comic collection that none of them had their aura unlocked, which meant that they were just as squishy as any civilian.

 

And he had no desire to scare Emerald. Life on the streets or not, Jaune was acutely aware of how easily traumatizing such things could be to a child. He’d helped look after too many younger siblings not to.

 

The dog faunus guard reached him first. He was a bit taller and bulkier than Jaune, with a longer reach, but that worked against him in the tight confines of the office. The two other guards closing in on either side didn’t help matters.

 

And they were so  _ slow. _ Jaune wasn’t sure if they were just being cautious, or the adrenaline was starting to kick in, but it seemed like he had all the time in the world to sidestep the first goon’s clumsy grab, and get inside his reach. 

 

He lashed out with a strike to the guy’s gut, and snapped off a quick kick to the back of the guy’s knee when he doubled over. A follow up punch to the jaw put the guy down for the count.

 

The other two guards were now approaching more warily, which meant they were moving even slower. Jaune pivoted to his left, grabbing the arm of his attacker as he reached for him, and used his momentum to swing the guy behind him, directly in line with the nicknacks on the bookshelf. 

 

A negligent shove sent the man stumbling backwards to crash into the bookcase, where a couple of falling ornaments made sure his opponent would be taking a nap for a while.

The third guard decided to abandon any attempts to capture him, judging by the impact he felt against his back. He’d been shot at enough times during training to recognize the feel of a bullet hitting his armor.

 

His aura flared briefly, further absorbing whatever damage the shot had done.

 

Jaune turned toward the man to see that yes, there was indeed a gun pointed at his face. The guard was clearly terrified, the gun shaking slightly in his grip, his eyes wide in panic. “Shit! Huntsman!”

 

‘ _ Not really, but I guess to regular mooks I may as well be. Considering I thought Hunters were born with unbreakable skin before I had my aura unlocked, it makes sense.’  _  Jaune smiled, remembering how ignorant he had been before he got a proper education, as he advanced on the final guard.

 

The guard did not share Jaune’s amusement, the sudden change in expression only seemed to terrify him more, because in his panic, the man forgot he was holding a pistol. Instead the man decided to throw his weapon in a futile attempt to hit him in the face.

 

He was so close to the guard that all Jaune had to do was reach out and snatch the gun out of the air. It was like he was playing catch. Jaune set the gun on the floor and glared at the man. That could have hit Emerald. 

 

Jaune saw her in his peripheral vision crouched down by the door, using a pedestal with a tasteful vase for cover. ‘ _ Better than nothing, but I wish she’d just run.’ _

 

Jaune snapped off a kick that sent his opponent to his knees. A quick knee to the face, and the man was down for the count. With the immediate threat dispatched, Jaune turned to the last man in the room.

 

Caioe was standing from his desk nearly shaking in rage, his carefully cultivated appearance shattered by his flushed complexion and wrinkled kimono. “Sorry about that, Mr. Caioe, but they looked like they could really use a break. Maybe you’ve been working them too hard?”

 

If the rest of his team were here, they would have groaned aloud, but Jaune didn’t care. He’d dreamed of being able to use snappy one-liners like  _ X-Ray and Vav  _ for years. This was too good to pass up.

 

“You should be proud of yourself, Mr. Arkos. Very few people have ever forced me to act in so direct a manner. A pity, I’ll likely need to replace the floor now.” the man said through clenched teeth.

 

Jaune barely had time to wonder what that meant, when Albastru smiled, revealing a set of fangs. A snake’s fangs. The man took a deep breath, and spit at him. Jaune made a hasty roll to the right, though it didn’t matter.

 

The shot flew wide and to the left, landing on the floor in a smoking pile that quickly began to eat a hole through the wood.  _ ‘So that’s what he meant. Acid.’ _ As he stood up, Jaune glanced at where he had last seem Emerald to find her staring hard at Caioe, face scrunched in concentration. 

 

She looked like she would faint at any moment, the prolonged use of her semblance taking its toll on her malnourished frame. He needed to end this quickly, so he could get her to a comfortable place to rest.

 

Jaune strode forward quickly, getting into Albastru’s personal space just as the man made to spit at him again. A quick jab to the face sent the man crashing back into his office chair, though he was surprisingly still conscious.

 

Jaune felt something warm splash against his face, and realized it was blood when Caioe’s hands flew to his face to clutch his nose. “Dy Dose! ‘ew d’oke dy dose, ‘ew ‘asta’d!”

 

“Well you shouldn’t be spitting acid at other people then! It’s unsanitary! Maybe you’ll have better manners after a nap?”

 

Caioe realized his intent as Jaune reached forward to clutch his face in his hands. “‘Do! Do’t ‘ew..!” Jaune brought the man’s head forward to crash into his expensive office desk, cutting off the rest of his retort. 

 

Just to add insult to injury, he used the oversized sleeve of Caioe’s kimono to clean the blood off of his face. Getting stains like blood out of such delicate fabric was going to be a nightmare.

 

‘ _ That’s what you get for insulting Emerald, asshole…’ _

 

With the last of the threats taken care of, Jaune turned to see Emerald now sitting on the floor, looking as though she would fall asleep at any moment. He rushed to her side, relieved to see that apart from being exhausted, she was uninjured. 

 

He smiled at her, reaching out to pat her head. “I’m glad you’re okay! I was worried!” He reached forward to hug her, which turned into a full cuddle as she lost her battle to remain conscious and collapsed bonelessly into his arms.

 

Jaune scooped her up, cradling her to his chest gently so she would be as comfortable as possible. Her head rested against his shoulder as Jaune stood up slowly, surveying the now quiet office. 

 

The first order of business was collecting his money, which was still sitting on top of the desk. Teachers were paid for teaching all the time, and that’s what this was; a self-defense lesson. And the lesson was: Don’t fight a guy with aura without aura.

 

Jaune turned to leave when he made an interesting discovery: Caioe’s scroll was still open on the table, and it had a connection to the CCT. ‘ _ Well, while I’m here…’ _

 

Despite knowing it was a long shot, any information was better than none. So, Jaune pulled up  _ Oumoogle _ and started to search. “Let’s see here, Salem.” There were no matching results, not that he expected any. If it were that easy, the war wouldn’t have been going on for millennia.

 

“How about...Queen of the Grimm. Scary shadow lady? Eldritch horror fetishist dream come true?”

 

There was a fine line between satire and self-indulgence, and he had crossed it two names ago. Deciding to try again later, Jaune moved on to the next big target that he had a name for: Cinder Fall.

 

There were hits right away. After scrolling through the garbage, he eventually found something useful; an  _ Oumtube _ video that showed a much younger Cinder dressed as some sort of...moth according to the description. 

 

He honestly didn’t know what to make of the “LAMP!” comments.

 

The outfit looked more like underwear than a costume, and emphasized her curves. She was crouched in front of a lamp with the shade removed, and staring as if mesmerized. After taking a moment to wonder what Pyrrha would look like in the same outfit, Jaune noticed something else: bruises.

Jaune had seen his older sisters use makeup the day after training sometimes to cover up marks from injuries that slipped through their aura. It was rare, but it happened. He had no doubt to what he was seeing. 

 

The strategic placing of the makeup around her arms and face told a bleak story. And her eyes…

 

They were not the eyes of Cinder Fall the false Maiden, and instigator of the Fall of Beacon.  Instead, Jaune found himself looking at a young woman that seemed afraid and hopeless. ‘ _ She looks...weak.’  _ To make matters worse, there was a link to a  _ Patreoum  _ account that promised even more.

 

The evidence was circumstantial at the moment, but Jaune was fairly certain that Cinder Fall was being forced to dress up as fetish fuel for money. 

 

“I am horribly conflicted. On the one hand, this is the woman that caused the destruction of Beacon. On the other hand, she hasn’t done anything like that yet.” The question that Jaune was really wondering though: How did the power hungry Cinder Fall go from this to orchestrating the fall of a kingdom?

 

Salem.

 

Whatever happened to make Cinder join the Grimm Queen, it likely had something to do with this. He had made it his mission to change things. In the future, Emerald was Cinder’s tool, a thief and a killer. Now he was going to do his best to make sure she grew up happy, healthy, and not forced into a life of crime.

 

If he was willing to do that for Emerald, who played a key role in the fall of Vale, then shouldn’t he do his best to help Cinder? More importantly: Could he really call himself a Huntsman if he  _ didn’t  _ try to help those in need?

 

_ ‘No,’  _ Jaune decided,  _ ‘No, I can’t.’ _

 

Pyrrha had taught him better than that.

 

With his mind made up, Jaune searched through several of the most recent videos, looking for some clue that would give him a location. He got lucky on the third one. Cinder was wearing some sort of skimpy angel costume, based on the wings. She was mounting a streetlight like a stripper at a club, and blowing kisses to the camera.

 

What caught his attention though, was the snow. The ground was covered in it, and in the background was a cafe. One that his team had been to before on Weiss’s recommendation.

 

It had the best coffee in Atlas.

 

‘ _ Well, it’s a start, and I have more than enough to take a flight there.’ _

 

Emerald started to stir, trying to burrow further into his chest for warmth. Unfortunately, the armor was in the way. He shifted his weight so she was laying more on his hoodie, and started typing a message onto Caioe’s scroll. 

 

It was a list of six names and the dates of their fights, Jaune had no intention of killing this man or his henchmen, they weren’t Grimm or Salem. And he really didn’t want to risk this guy using his connections to make trouble for him later. So, a compromise. If he followed the list, Caioe would make a lot more than 12,000.

 

Hopefully the man’s greed outweighed any desire for revenge. And if it didn’t, he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. For the moment, he had a young girl to care for.

 

With that in mind, he set off to find them a nice hotel for the evening.

 

His luck, and wallet proved their worth. He was able to find a very nice hotel only  couple blocks away from Albastru’s office. It had extremely comfortable beds, luxurious bathrooms, and most importantly: Free continental breakfast. Emerald was going to be very hungry when she woke up.

Having money also meant preferential treatment, something that he learned from Weiss. Flash some lien around, and the staff would get you anything you asked for, no questions asked.

 

Like a fresh change of clothes for the newly adopted girl he was carrying.

 

One of the receptionists, a mother herself, provided more proof to Jaune that all mothers have a psychic semblance by getting fresh clothes in Emerald’s size after only looking at her.

 

Glynda Goodwitch had nothing on mind reading moms.

 

Jaune unlocked the door to their room, and slowly walked over to the bed closest to the window. He pulled back the blankets as best he could, and gently tucked Emerald in, before slowly making his way to the his own bed and collapsing onto his mattress in exhaustion after removing his armor.

 

Tomorrow they would set out for Atlas. He was going to find Cinder Fall, and he was going to save her.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


 


End file.
